Fall is here, which means pumpkin farms and fall celebrations. Pumpkin patches can be a lot of fun with all the festivities, cute animals, pumpkins and hay around. Speaking of which, what is hay exactly? Or is it straw? What is the difference, and is it food for animals, bedding or for use for household decorations?
It is understandable that hay and straw are often confused for each other. They are common agriculture products that look very similar and can be found together in the same places. But they have important differences, such as their structure, nutritional content and the way they are used.
What's the difference? Briefly, hay is food for herbivores, while straw is for non-food purposes. Not sure if you have straw or hay? Take a closer look. Is it yellow and dry, hollow like a straw and unappetizing to horses? Then it is likely straw.
Straw anatomy and harvest
Straw is made of dried grain stalks. It is an agricultural byproduct. A byproduct is something that would normally be wasted that is made through the process of making something else. Straw is the byproduct of growing cereal crops like wheat, rye, rice, oats or barley.
Words to know
Erosion: The gradual destruction or wearing away of something.
Flammable: Easily set on fire.
Germinate: Begin to grow and put out shoots after a period of dormancy.
Livestock: Farm animals considered an asset.
Spontaneous: Occurring without apparent external cause.
Threshing: To separate grain from a plant.
Through the process of threshing, the grain, seedheads and chaff (seed casings) are removed from the plants, and just the golden yellow, hollow straw is left behind. Luckily, leftover straw is a byproduct that has many uses and does not go to waste!
Straw's many uses
Most often, straw is used for livestock bedding. But this byproduct can be utilized in many different ways. Though straw is edible and can be used to supplement livestock feed, it lacks nutritional value and often goes untouched in favor of healthier, more flavorful options. It is often best left as bedding because it is fluffy, absorbent and comfortable for livestock.
Outside the barnyard, straw can be used in your garden. When layered on thick, straw can prevent weeds in your garden bed. You can also garden directly in a straw bale using it as a raised garden bed. Straw can be a mulch, helping to conserve water and prevent temperature extremes. Because straw has no seeds because of the processing method, it is safe to use in your garden. If it did have seeds, the seeds could drop and germinate, and a plant would end up growing in that spot.
Straw is a great material to add to your compost pile. It helps your compost maintain good moisture and airflow. Composted straw creates a fertilizer you can use in your garden.
It can also control erosion from water and wind or in areas that get a lot of foot traffic. Straw can even be used as an eco-friendly building material because of its effective insulation properties.
Straw is also frequently found around fall fun and scenic landscapes throughout the autumnal season. You might see straw on a hayride, around a haunted house or at a Halloween party. You could even use straw bales as a chair for a backyard bonfire.
Hay anatomy and harvest
Hay starts off as a high-quality cereal crop. These can be tall field grasses like timothy, ryegrass, orchardgrass and bluegrass or legumes such as alfalfa and clover. Once the crop is fully grown with seeds, farmers mow it down.
The entire green plant — the leaves, stalk and seeds — are left to dry in the hot summer sun. Once the plant is fully dry and the risk of molding is over, the hay is collected and formed into bales.
Hay is for horses!
Have you ever heard the saying "Hay is for horses?” Well, that's true! Hay is usually grown for feeding animals, specifically livestock. Timothy hay and orchardgrass are popular for feeding horses because they are high in fiber. Timothy hay has low protein content, while orchardgrass is high in protein. Alfalfa is often used to feed horses, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits and even guinea pigs. In the wild, deer enjoy eating the young alfalfa leaves while songbirds snack on its seeds.
Flammable when wet?
Hay bales can be flammable from the day they are baled through the day they are used. Surprisingly, wet hay is more likely to spontaneously combust or catch fire than dry hay. When hay is cut, the plant continues the process of photosynthesis. It respires or breathes for days after the cut. This causes the hay to heat up.
This fresh hay is appealing to microorganisms who enjoy moisture and heat. The microorganisms breathe and reproduce, ramping up the heat and producing gasses. Hay temperatures can reach 135 degrees Fahrenheit or even 175 degrees Fahrenheit in extreme heat. The high temperature and gasses released by the microorganisms can ignite into a fire. This is why hay is often stored outside, away from barns.
Seeing large bales of hay sitting outside in the middle of a field all winter is sure to make you shout "Hay!" not straw.
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